Tag: construction

April 6th – A frenetic, hurried visit to Telford in the afternoon showed me something about spring I forget – the optimism and resilience of nature. At the worksite of the new footbridge project, daffodils I spoke of as being lost last year under diggers and demolition have not just survived, but sprout from every patch of undisturbed ground. Bobbing cheerfully from scraped embankments, mounds of silver and defiantly decorating piles of rebar, these yellow flag bearers for better times will not be put off.

Meanwhile, steelwork is going up apace now.

Some features of spring are not just beautiful, but life-affirming.

April 4th – I’d had to call into Aldridge after working late and returned via Streets Corner. I noted that the old wall to the 60s shopping precinct on the corner had gone, and excavations were underway.

This is the preparatory work for the next stage of local junction improvements work which will see this entire junction remodelled with new signals, slip roads and crossings.

Peaceful now in the gathering dusk, but a summer of inconvenience and holdups for motorists seems to be on the cards…

Shire Oak has been massively improved, however, so it’ll be worth it in the end.

March 8th – At Telford, the piling for the footbridge project near the station is progressing apace, and the machinery in use is fascinating. 

Holes are being bored, reinforcing assemblies being placed within and concrete pumped in. The depth of the bores is extraordinary, and an army of workers in orange wait for their moment to undertake their assigned tasks.

This is a hugely complex project which has surprised me – I can now see why it’s costing so much.

February 22nd – Passing through Telford on a flying visit in the morning, I noticed that the worksite for the new footbridge was oddly quiet. It seems test bores have been completed and are now being monitored for effects on the nearby built environment – including the railway itself.

Along the rails are mounted at intervals surveying datum targets which will be monitored – either manually, or by use of an automated theodolite – to see it recent operations are causing any movement.

A fascinating use of technology.

January 15th – One thing did impress, though: The new housing estate on the old market site in Silver Street is coming on apace.

I’m so glad to see this – it’s been so barren, so open here for an awful long time. To see life here at night will be wonderful, and hopefully, the nearby High Street will see more trade.

For once, I’m not pessimistic about the future of my town. We might, just might, break even.

December 5th – In Telford again, and the work on the footbridge replacement has taken an interesting turn. On the west-side steps, curling around the bridge pillar, a tortuous square spiral ramp is being built in scuffed and wood.

I assume this will be to take the place of the existing ramp, which must be in the way of the new structure, which is to be built closer in towards the station buildings.

That’s quite some ramp and it’ll be fun riding a bike up and down that…

Mach 15th – I nipped to Telford for a quick errand mid day, and was pleased to see that the construction workers building the new bridge at the station hadn’t destroyed the daffodils under their wheels.

The scrub on the right was until recently covered in trees and shrubs, and upon clearance for the upcoming works, the daffodils formerly blocked from the light bolted forth. It’s good to see them get their time in the light.

March  7th – I had to nip to Telford, and as I came through the station I noted that the tree clearance now seems to have ended, and construction weens to have started in earnest on the western side of the bridge span.

I was also pleased to note that the daffodils on the station ramp side that bolted wonderfully when cleared of their shady tree-cover are coming into bloom as yet untroubled by the construction machines. it’s right they should bloom unfettered for a final time, I think.

This project has caught my attention and I’ll be interested to watch it progress – not least to see how they manage to built a new access way that will so clearly interfere with the old one, and yet still maintain public access.

January 26th – Over to Telford mid morning to pick something up, and I noted that the 80s footbridge that links Telford Station’s two platforms with the cycleway and town centre is breathing it’s last – but one simple change has made it much nicer already, and it’s quite a shock.

The bridge is due to be replaced for one more user friendly, that’s better for wheelchair users and less circuitous for passengers in a hurry, and will also offer lifts, and construction is just commencing. Trees around the bridge have been removed and the lack of dense cop[pice around the station end has opened it right up, and made the chore of using the thing a whole bunch nicer, with less dark corners.

I’ll be watching the project with interest.

August 22nd – I had to pop to Telford mid day, and leaving the station for the cycleway I looked back and noticed something in the sea of built environment – the tip of a yellow drilling rig near the westbound railway platform.

I noticed a few weeks ago there was an application to build a replacement bridge here – the current one is decaying, and not compliant with disability legislation (the slopes would be very unpleasant in a hand-propelled wheelchair, it’s clear to see). The proposal is in, and it looks like the engineers are doing ground investigations in readiness of anticipated approval.

I never noticed the rig as I rolled past, and it’s position was very secluded – but looking over, it’s quite large. 

Hiding in plain sight.